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From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Obong of Calabar Executive Forum (OCEF) has decried the non-evacuation of refuse from the streets of Calabar, the Cross River capital.
In a statement signed by the chairman of the OCEF, Chief Gershom Henshaw and the secretary, Dr Maurice Ekpeyong, the Forum frowned at the continued piling up of refuse on the streets, saying it is constituting a health challenge to residents of the metropolis.
Describing the prolonged refuse evacuation crisis in Calabar as totally unacceptable, especially for a city known globally as one of the cleanest in the country and a preferred tourism destination, the Forum noted that the refuse heaps in some areas have blocked traffic flow as well as entrances of residents to their houses with emanating stench polluting the environment, thereby exposing the public to untold hardship and sickness.
They called on government agencies to as a matter of urgency embark on the immediate evacuation of the refuse which has continued to pose a health danger to the public and is likely to lead to an outbreak of epidemic in Calabar.
The OCEF also called for regular, prompt and sufficient funding of the waste management agency and other relevant government agencies saddled with the responsibility of waste management in the state to reverse this ugly trend which has lingered for some time now.
They advised the public to cooperate with the government to keep the environment clean always, especially as the Christmas season is fast approaching with the expected influx of visitors into the state, adding that environmental sanitation should be prioritized at all times for the well-being of the people.
